heading home for the weekend along with the rest of congress. but that doesn't mean congressional members are not talking tough fox business. we will hear from congressman martian from tennessee. lori: then you can ask this. what fiscal cliff. shoppers still spending big. is ceo of the number one holiday brand joining us on the state of luxury. adam: right now it is time to check stocks. we will add to the floor of the new york stock exchange. nicole petallides standing there. we are looking to end the week which way. >> reporter: let's see. right now at 13,161, ever so slightly in positive territory. when you look at the markets, keep an eye on 13,155. that is where we ended last friday. we have been up four straight weeks several. the dow has been trending to the

upside. when you talk to traders on wall street a continue to think that the rally is in place. the dow, s&p, and nasdaq gaining 45%. these last four weeks. "we are obviously looking good. you are seeing some of the names on the move here. for example, the fear indexes to the upside. names like alcoa, cisco, caterpillar, hewlett-packard are helping the dow along trying to keep the names that are helping. the weighing on the dow would be some of the stocks such as american express, merck, and exxon mobile. adam: we will check in again with you and roughly 15 minutes. thank you very much. lori: congress of for the weekend, it's not likely in the fiscal cliff face-to-face negotiating will happen. the fiscal cliff deal, will we see the economy grow or if there

is no deal will we fall into a recession? that is the $604,000 question. joined now by steve forbes with his thoughts on which is more likely. wonderful to see you. harming the patient. start there. >> it's going to make things worse. europe is doing it, southern europe. it keeps raising. the economy contracts even more. about to go in recession. japan raising taxes. why in the world we would apply that poison to ourselves. lori: that is the ultimatum from the white house, as you know. because of the president's reelection they have the leverage. so are the republicans going to have any choice but to cave especially on the issue of raising taxes for higher-income americans? >> well, there are small business owners. 63 percent, and people who create capitol, invest capital. we have seen in europe and

france especially, that kind of thing does not work. he does not have a mandate to hurt the economy which is the way the republicans should phrase this thing. why harm the economy now. lori: edges of the economy fall off the cliff to iraq or raising the tax on the wealthy. >> with the republicans should do, making the point they're raising taxes is a bad thing to do, let's postpone this bank. better to do that than to give poison to the patient now. our economy is starting to slow again. give people pause. when you do things in a rush to do things you don't anticipate. lori: our viewers know that you ran twice for president, republican, of course. you made your name many ways, but with your proposal for a flat tax, fair tax. just this week you were on capitol hill. how is your fair tax proposal in this environment being received this time around?

>> people know we have to simplify the tax code. if the president wants to rise to greatness what he should do a state the emerging consensus among democrats, signing on to the idea of taking junk out of the code, deductions, reducing rates across the board. it's going to have to do a sweeping thing. a drag on the economy. lori: why do you think washington as a whole seems to rebuff the idea. >> because it is a source of power. being able to amend the code, and change the code. everyone has to come to you for relief. opponents and competitors and things like that. so they're not going to change on their own. you don't change minds on capitol hill. you do it through the heat of public opinion. as the only way you'll get it done. lori: you're not optimistic.

describe for me how you see that environment impacting american business. >> it means hair not going to have even the kind of a semi vibrancy we have this year. fourth quarter will be slower. slower next year because we have these enormous deregulations coming down and health care. taking risks for the future. so now like a car on the superhighway going 30 miles-per-hour on we should be going 70, were going to go down to ten or 15. lori: your take on this idea that american business and investors will rehabilitate the struggling economies your describing earlier in the conversation to the detriment of us in the u.s. >> you have seen some of that already because of our crazy taxes and corporate profits. unfortunately other countries are committing the same sense. a handful of countries get it right. singapore, they will get that investment. in europe there are some

countries getting it right like sweden, poland, bulgaria, the baltic states, but the major players are doing the same poison as things that we're trying to do here. lori: thanks you so much for coming in. in joined the conversation. adam: thank you. we are going to talk about something investors to follow financial stocks. then sweepstakes. coming to an end, details that people might have skin in this camera going to want to pay attention to. >> sources are telling the fox business network that they are finalizing the agreement. he's working in now with cantor fitzgerald. we should point out, this deal is not finalized. they have not signed the paper, but from what we understand they are in advanced talks to do a final deal. pretty interesting. in -- someone who cover the financial crisis. this is a guy that was ahead of most of the news.

he was a fixture on business tv. he, you know, i interviewed him a lot. rochdale security where he worked when under, but obviously he had nothing to do with it. about 17 firms came bidding for him. as we last reported, five firms were in the running. and now it's down to one or two, the firm i hear he is in advanced talks with his cantor fitzgerald. adam: i'm thinking back to 2008. the japanese bank, i forget the name of it. they invested -- about 90% stake in morgan stanley. such a great idea. was he right? >> i don't know. every analyst as good cause and battles. i think -- i think that, you know, he has made some very good calls on bear stearns. i disagree with his assessment of the city. i think what is good is his perspective, what he is really

known for. he kind of understands this sort of guts of these banks and why so many people want to hire him, because he is good on tv, explains things well. investors liked hearing from him, and he is a guy that could call a jamie diamond and get him on the phone. >> when j.p. morgan state chase. >> the name is escaping me. adam: the point you make, when they had the problem, we interviewed at eight. >> and he can, and get him on the phone. the sweepstakes is coming to an end. i can't tell you exactly when, but to reiterate the news, from what i understand, a very advanced talk to sign this thing adam: investors have a lot of skin in the game involving the fiscal cliff. has this been priced in?

i'm hearing that they still think there will be a deal. >> investors do. the market, we should point out, the market has priced in the fiscal cliff. i talked to see as a lot. they are starting to get increasingly worried about this thing. they're telling me that the market may president and the but the really think their is a good chance of a bullet the cliff. here are two important dates. lots of meetings going and then all of that. look for an important day before christmas. that is where, you know, if you see leaders leave town after christmas we're going to hit the cliff. live for 21, 22, 23. and then after that if we hit the cliff there is another potential big date that kind of could get a deal, and that is after the new year's. here's the thing. the deal is important. if we come out with the deal that is merely kick the can, that is going to be a problem. you will see companies postponed a financial activity, the

markets take a hit. this is wary of starting to play with fire, even if you hit the cliff, which if you think about it, automatic budget cuts, tax increases. that's not so great in the short term. if we don't come if we postpone stuff the uncertainty could be bad for the market. as an investor, play the odds, the candidates. look at the kick the can scenario. adam: have to tell you right now. bill stone is going to be coming up later on. he will be saying that he expects. >> investors have to be very defensive for next year. that is almost as bad, at least in short term as, you know, that this glove. the fiscal cliff scenario might be given the long term. you really get a handle on the deficit. why should we be defending germany -- germany. adam: i ran to the studio.

lori: well, states tell the obama administration whether they plan to build and operate their own health insurance exchanges or default and that the federal government do it. so far it looks like -- lori: adam: where are the long lines, frenzied crowds? iphone five made there debut in china, but to a been there done that response. take a look at metal as we head to break. ♪ [ male announcer ] this is amy. amy likes to invest in the market. she also likes to ride her bike. she knows the potential for making or losing money

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♪ lori: that dow is down. let's get a more in-depth check of the markets with nicole petallides on the floor of the stock exchange, and i know you have your eye on facebook. >> reporter: can we talk about lock us in the expiration's where the insiders who were originally involved in the ipo initial public offering back in may, times were they have the ability to get in there. we have seen that going on after may and into august. in the last we did nazi that. that was of of confidence. we have seen facebook today is to the downside, down about 3% as shares are being released. but it's a small amount compared

to some of the prior months where we did see the ability for a massive amount of shares to be sold. the good thing about facebook, when you take a look at it, $38 ipo. but it has run up in the last three months. over 30 percent. so that is good news for facebook. of course. touting the company and having its potential. the opportunity to sell some shares and did not do so. back to you. lori: thank you. adam: health care is back in the spotlight as states have to decide by today whether they will embrace the federally built health care exchange program more join the other 20 plus states that have opted out in order to build their own program peter barnes is in washington d.c. with more of ross. >> reporter: health care exchanges are a big part of obamacare, but as the deadline today, about half of the state to saying, no thanks. we are not going to operate them ourselves.

eighteen states plus d.c. will create their own. twenty-six states will let the federal government set them up for them. six states we will set them up in partnership with the fed. some republican governors are passing because they oppose the obamacare from the get go. other governors are awaiting more details from washington demoted think that these things are too risky to take on. let the fed stayed down all the risk and possible unexpected cost. massachusetts, however, has been operating one of these for several years. they are supposed to be like travel loss of the cover buying health insurance coverage. sign-on and shop around for the plan that is the best price with the options that you want. now, the administration is counting on these to help provide insurance coverage for up to 203 million people by 2016. they are all supposed to be up and running by january 1st of 2014, but for some it has been of little bit slow going.

take a listen. >> part of the implementation problem has been hhs wanted to the wait until after the election to put out many of these regulations, not wanting to overly politicized them. of course there are still plenty of concerns, but they want to pause and wait until after the election. of course that ate away at the time that is available tantalum and regulations. >> for those states and governors that have held back and decided to let the fed handle this, they do have the option overtime to adopt their own state-controlled exchanges. adam: thank you very much. all's quiet at capitol hill. the house and senate on session, but does that mean that people are not talking to fox business? we are headed to congresswoman marcia some state next. lori: to just forget that this bill clinton go shopping. the fiscal cliff causing shoppers tisch cut back.

russian before we falloff. you know this stuff. all that fancy decorated expensive pottery. this ceo of the company on the state of luxury next. what's next?

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♪ >> twenty-two minutes past the hour updating you on that breaking news story out of newtown, conn. a mass shooting at sandy hook elementary school. we are now learning there are at least 26 fatalities, eight adults, 18 children. there is no active shooter at this time, as we are hearing. the gunman took his own life. state police have cleared the scene. we are moments away from a police news conference at the school. we will take you there when it happens. the justice department reporting to hand guns were recovered at the scene. a block and a six hour. no terrorist connection at this point. the same producer.

the gunman was dressed in a military like outfit wearing black beady use in the military best there are reports of a second %-confirmed as of yet.not been law-enforcement sources saying there is no motive at this time. white house press secretary is saying last our president obama was notified about the shooting might deputy national security advisor john brennan. the white house is still waiting for more information about the incident, but the president is receiving regular updates. the president might address the nation regarding this incident. we have not confirmed that, but if he does we will bring you the president's comments as they come and. that's all the time we have right now on that breaking news story. did you back now to lori and adam. adam: the president might address the nation. if he does, we will take that year. we want to turn our attention

back to the fiscal cliff because as we move closer and closer to it you don't expect to find anyone on capitol hill making any decisions this weekend since both the house and senate are on recess until monday. republican congresswoman marcia joins us now from natural to talk about where we stand on all of this. thank you for joining us. you certainly have your credentials when it comes to fiscal responsibility. i was doing a little background, and i see the you are a champion. known as one of the heroes of the tennessee tax revolt of the year 2000. a one to ask you a question. you were quoted as saying, we did not get here with our fiscal problems overnight. decades in the making. took decades to make them. in 2003 when congress passed the bush tax cuts, why did you guys sunset these for 2010? why not just make them permanent at that point? we would have avoided this mess. >> and that is a great question. there are many of us that want to make tax reductions per

minute and spending temporary. and you kraft these extensions, if you will, or reductions in a manner so that it fits within the budget window, within what the congressional budget office gives you, and you will hear the term used above baseline budgeting and then static scoring or dynamic scoring, and this is why many of us would like to do a couple of things. number one, moved to dynamic scoring so that the changes in tax policy actually are reflected when you're doing your numbers in the current and out years and also moving to a two-year budget cycle. lori: of want to -- the reason i'm asking that question as we have to believe numbers. i want to get into the republicans democrats. in 2003 was congress told that we would not be in a deficit kind of situation that we face now given the cuts? because what democrats are saying is if we had never done

that we would not be in the situation. we will republicans are saying is it is the spending. what were you as being tall as far as we can do is send a war going forward. >> we know if you clean up the tax code, if you reduce what that tax burden is combat tax liability on individuals and small businesses, new start businesses, if you allow for more capitol investment you are going to see a more robust economy. that is pretty much a given. what our goal was, reduced the burden, and that is the right goal now. what we should have done, and what some of us have tried to do, i do across-the-board spending cuts every year. as you reduce the burden of taxation you have to reduce our spending. that is where government gets into a pickle, if you will,

because you have discretionary spending, which is about one-third of the budget. you can go and work on that, but you also have your trust funds which are medicare and social security. and you have your entitlement spending. i did a town hall last night with a few thousand of my constituents and then did the budget school this morning. "we want to do is reduce with the federal government is doing. we want some thoughtful planning placed on entitlements. we would like to see stabilization and securitization of your medicare and social security program and then you have to have a tax policy that is going to make sense. clean it up. adam: a lot of us want to clean it up. i apologize of reroute of time because i would love to have talk to you about michael is saying which is republicans should let the president raise taxes, called the bluff and say, you still have to cut 1 trillion

in spending. it's a pleasure to have you. appreciate it. lori: technology is outperforming nicely so far thanks to apple. thanks to apple. is it not time to our take your profits and run? adam: the sound of music. does it ever budget when you're watching tv at normal volume in the come on and they are twice as loud? some great news you want to year. look, if you have copd like me,

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lori: update you on the markets. not a lot going on. head to the floor of new york stock exchange and nicole petroleum -- nicole petallides. there are a few winners today. >> that's right. adobe, top performer in the s&p 500, historying a new 52-week high. they came out with the quarterly report out after the bell. hot rising 28%. sub skrixs higher --. that is certainly, that pace, even surprised the ceo. even he wasn't expecting that. so certainly enjoying this growth potential here for adobe. as a result it has been a top performer. then you take a look here at alcatel-lucent. alcatel-lucent, telecom equipment-maker, alu feting

$2.1 billion financing deal. secondary credit facilities will be underwritten by credit suisse and goldman sachs. you do see that name on the move to the upside as well. one thing i left out and i did want to add obviously sometimes you see analysts jumping in after the affect but it is good to know and add in with a dob systems going for one brief moment you had price target increases from most of the major houses here. jpmorgan, credit suisse and bernstein on board with that. back to you. lori: nicole, thank you so much. adam: only 17 days left until the fiscal cliff but bill stone says don't panic. sounds like alfred e. neuman, right? what me worry? going into the new year he has positive outlook for 2013. he says in this rolling crisis environment the only thing to do is focus own long-term investments. he is from pnc wealth management. thank you for joining us. you're optimistic but you also think we might be in a kick the can down the road

situation. charlie gasparino at the top of the show said that would be disasterous for investors. why do you think not so much? >> i don't know about disasterous. i think, you know, i do think it is probably, maybe this is being too kind but suboptimal in the sense certainly the market as you know has been pretty darn good despite all the worries about the fiscal cliff. so i do worry there may be a little bit, i'll say too much con send as you thattwe have higher odds to get to the a grand bargain than i would probably say. i think as time passes you are really getting down to the point where it gets more and more likely you do get to kick the can down the road. i say it is not the end of the world because there are a few things happen. yes, you might hit more of the fiscal cliff but the secondary thing, people talk about well, all the sequestration kicks in. the administration has a choice when they really want to start kicking in that sequestration. if they think they can get to a deal sometime early in the year they may push that

off a little bit. you have to be a little careful. lori: if you're one of the investors watching us right now, what do you do? do you sit on the sidelines? do you sell and wait. do you buy in? where should you be buying in? those are a lot of questions and we don't have a lot of time. >> i hear you. i think you buy into what which would say is companies that you think survive no matter what happens. so i always think of it is as we still like those dividend payers and very specifically the dividend growers. some sectors we like that are less susceptible to the economy, health care, consumer staples. even consumer discretionary we would say because we think consumer better shape than most people give them credit for. adam: even with numbers we got yesterday on consumer spending? >> when you look beneath the surface those numbers were probably better than they looked in terms of the ex-autos and gas numbers. core consumer spending, yeah i think it is holding up

rather well. we're getting some of that sandy numbers coming back in. adam: let's talk real quick about tech and apple. i look at yesterday's google maps return to apple as victory for apple. now their iphone has a comparable map app as an droid device. they don't have a second-rate app. a lot of people an investors are saying otherwise. what do you think will happen with apple and what do you think will happen with tech? >> we're slightly underweight appeal. tech is interesting because for the fourth quarter and this goes for apple as well, consensus estimates expect year-over-year declines in earnings and tech in general. in some instances i would say they're victims of their own success particularly you would say for apple because things were so good and lapping a fourth quarter where they did so much better than consensus estimate consensus estimate were expecting. that being said you're going 12 technology as a whole

will outpace, and pretty much outpace the view in terms of earnings growth. 2013 at least consensuswise not expected to be the case. so i think it is worth kind of keeping that in mind. there are some investors out there that really focus in on earnings momentum. you might see a little bit of a shift in terms of what kind of investors would own technology. so at those times you tend to get a little dislocation. adam: the way to sum up what you just said not from investor standpoint but from consumer standpoint, buy tech because consumers love gadgets. bill stone, appreciate you being with us. wealth management chief investment strategist at pnc. have a good day, sir. >> you too. lori: you may be reaching for the remote less during commercial breaks lately. a new government law now requires broadcasters to make sure commercials are at the same volume as the tv show you happen to be watching. ear-splitting commercial volumes have long been a complaint of tv watchers. according to a "harris poll"

41% of viewers turn down the volume to escape the loud ads. 22% hit the mute button while 17% change the channel all together. the new law commercial advertisement loudness mitigation act or calm act. it has taken more more than four years to make reality. adam: why? lori: that was the first time i've chuckled in quite a while. we're devastated out of news out of connecticut. it is such a tragedy. we're doing business news for you here today but for the people and parents our hearts go out. adam: if the president does make a statement we'll carry that on fox business. lori: what does your commuter mouse say about you? the scary flaw in internet explorer that may leave you vulnerable. adam: a looked a what 10 and 30-year treasurys are doing today. [ male announcer ] at scottrade,

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>> hi, guys. excuse me. 40 minutes past the hour. arthel neville watching fox news channel reporting. we're updating on unfolding out of newtown, connect cult. a mass shooting at sandy hook elementary. there are at least 26 fatalities, 18 children, eight adults. there are no active shoot is. the gunman took his own life. we're hearing reports a second gunman was taken into police custody. we're learning that the gunman was a 20-year-old male. we're moments away from a police news conference. we are reporting there were two handguns cover recovered at scene. a glock and a sig sauer. this press conference is just beginning. we'll bring it to you live momentarily. we'll go to the press conference. get it, record it and bring

it to you momentarily.

lori: gives new meaning to the term, mousetrap. alleged flaw in microsoft's internet explorer could have attackers following every move of your mouse. shibani joshi has the details. more invasion of privacy is this? >> well, it's a flaw in the internet explorer security browser. so basically what the attackers are doing, they're going in and watching what you're doing with your mouse and your activity over all on the browser. this has the potential to affect a lot of people out there. you love it or hate it, people are using internet explorer. 49% of the globe used it in the month of november, according to net market share. and a security firm has come out overnight saying it has discovered this hole. basically what it is doing, tracking what you're doing, using your mouse. this is an issue, online banks, for example, what they do, they track what you

do on a virtual keyboard. outen have to enter in the password or account details and they can follow this and mimic it. you get into cybersecurity here. so this is something the industry is talking about today. lori: has microsoft had a response? >> they certainly have. we've got a statement from the company blog and their corporate vice president saying, quote, we're actively working to adjust this behavior in ie. we see very little risk to consumers at this time. there are no reported cases of any consumer having their information compromised. but it seems like just because customers haven't seen it happen yet doesn't mean it can't happen in the future. they did acknowledge the flaw exists, the hole exists. they're not doing anything to punch it up right yet. we may see a software update. lori: they can track your website visits? track your mouse use? your friends. >> can i ask a quick question about the big news yesterday with apple and google? >> yeah. adam: i read this very

intriguing article. everyone sees this as google victory and apple loss, black eye for apple. they have a comparable iphone which has comparable mapping applications and they didn't have that. their map was no good. they didn't have google maps. now they got it. isn't this victory for apple? shouldn't investors consider that. >> i think this is win for both parties because google maps gets to be seen by more eyeballs and apple has the best mapping function on its phone. this is killer iphone. adam: bingo. >> some reviews i was reading yesterday. it fixed iphone one flaw that it didn't have a maps program. apple is concerned, it is not ideal. we want everybody to use our software but the fact it is on there and people are still buying the iphone it is a win-win all the way around. they will fix that, they will fix issues with apple maps and we'll see if people go back to it. but choice is key there. adam: when i put my address

into apple maps it puts my home in the middle of central park. that should never be the case by the way. lori: tell that to your friends. adam: i told apple that several times in choice worded e-mails. lori: thank you, shibani. >> thanks. adam: it is quarter till. as we do every 15 minutes we check markets for you. nicole petallides on floor of the new york stock exchange. two stocks deep in the red. >> i like choice words in e-mails to apple. i like it adam shapiro. we're looking at both best buy and verifone. let's start off with verifone. you think of credit cards, you think of payment processing, swipers for the credit card machines. they have come out with numbers. their earnings were smaller than expected. you see the down arrows down $3.36 there. it is under pressure certainly. they have backed off from working with smaller merchant payments. the ceo's saying that particular area is not profitable. we've heard that over the last week or so. square is another type of

company that does that for the cabs, new york city cabs and stuff. look here at best buy. we've talked about the founder, riihard schulze, who was looking forward to take the company and do a buyout offer. that deadline has been pushed back. we're seeing now it may not even come till february. with that the stock, best buy, which gained 16% yesterday, is pulling back 16% today. and you can see where it is right now, down over two bucks. back to you. adam: nicole petallides on the floor of nyse. thank you again. lori: you brought up the apple angle to the story. now we're hearing apple iphone 5 hitting china with more of a thump, than a bang. short lines. calm crowd. sharp contrast to the launch of iphone 4, when rowdy crowds pelt ad beijing store with eggs? what changed? preorders have been positive for service carriers. apple failed to strike a deal with the country's

largest carrier, china mobile. meaning it misses out on a large number of phone users. another possible reason analysts are saying, cheapest model of iphone phone 5 is retailing $200 more in the u.s. and than in the u.s. they're buying them here in the u.s. and bringing them home. makes sense to me. look at apple shares today. down another 20 bucks a share. 509.59. is it an entry point? some sure think so. will that turnaround? my naivete. best-selling holiday brand at stores like sachs and neiman marcus but are people shelling out for the big-ticket items from mckensy childs? we'll ask the ceo, lee feldman. adam: chinese people are shelling out big bucks for christmas items. when it comes to spending who is spending more, men or women? lori, pay attention. you will be surprisedded on this one. ♪ .

lori: well with economic and tax concerns at the forefront of everyone's mind this holiday season will luxury gift sales see gains this year? mckensy childs ceo lee feldman is here to see how it is doing and what it takes to be the number one holiday brand and high end luxury department stores sachs and neiman marcus. >> thanks for having me. lori: mackenzie childs makes

potterry pieces textiles for the home. we're looking at number one most in demand at sachs and neiman marcus during the holiday season. describe for me a little about the goodies you brought with you today. >> one of the things that is interesting at mackenzie childs we're located up in state new york in finger lakes. these are hand made in the u.s. every piece is unique. i think one of the keys to our success is, consumers are looking for value and they're looking for special items. lori: these are collectors items. people start to collect their mackenzie pieces. jay strongwater is in the portfolio. they make picture frames. >> that's right. lori: how much do these retail for and how well are they doing compared to last year. >> our ceramic pieces are typically a couple00 stores. mackenzie childs collectors look at it as a hobby. they come to visit us in

aurora. they look forward to receiving catalog. it is a collectible. lori: your background is private equity. you purchased mackenzie-childs, during the financial crisis or shortly before it. anyway the growth, you more than doubled. $45 million projected profits this year. how did you do that? >> right, twin lakes formed a company called aurora brands. we own mackenzie-childs and we recently purchased jay strong water which are number one and number two home brands in please places like semen and sachs. mackenzie is-childs in interesting story. in may 2008, right at at wrong time before the whole world collapsed and very strong brand with strong collector base. there is little bit of a silver lining when things are down. people like neiman's and sachs, they're open to new ideas. we were able to get more space. we really got out there while other brands were being a little bit quiet, we got even more aggressive.

lori: why are people purchasing your brands in these tough economic and uncertain times? i mean really, what is it, what are you doing strategically? does the product speak for itself or going out there, i know you have a huge cataloging business as well? >> i think it's both. it is design in products and our distribution. on the products side, it is a unique design aesthetic. many products are made in the u.s. which is really important to people. and on the distribution side we're being verying a aggressive, particularly on our direct business. for mackenzie-childs alone we send out 4 million catalogs. while other catalog companies are bringing circulation down we've been aggressively increasing it. lori: thank you very much. lee feldman, mackenzie-childs beautiful gifts for the holidays. have a wonderful season yourself. >> thank you very much. lori: thanks again. adam: more likely a guy will buy one of those than a woman. here's why. lori: really? adam: this holiday season men are feeling more generous than your people, lori, my people?

adam: according to "usa today" research, 31% of your people, women, are planning to spend less on gifts than last year compared to 90% of my peeps, men. shoppers cited electronics as the most price insensitive items. and say they plan to focus on other deals. so guys, if you're hoping for that new iphone, well, lori would get it for you but don't know about your girlfriend. better luck next time. lori: stop. that is way it should be. more fun giving than getting, right? adam: no, it is more fun to receive. no, it is fun to give too. lori: tracy byrnes and ashley webster speak with an economist says going over the cliff would it be worse -- this is the big question, rye? maybe we fall over the cliff, maybe that is best case or kick the can. that is the other option. next on fox business. stay with us here. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%.

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ashley: good friday afternoon to you, everybody. i'm ashley webster. tracy: i'm tracy byrnes. with two hours to go the dow is on track for the fourth straight winning week although down about three points right now. how long will the long stalled fiscal cliff talks shape this market's final stretch in 2012? ashley: the markets would love to know, still drifting at this point. america's fastest growing port, you think it is los angeles, maybe new york, think again. savannah, georgia tops the list thanks to exports of chicken feed, a delicacy in asia. the head of the port is up ahead. tracy: maybe he will tell us how to eat those. ashley: no. tracy: outrage over spending bill for superstorm sandy is filled with pet projects in washington, d.c. while people are still devastated

by the storm. liz claman on the story. ashley: from chicken to pork. time for stocks now. as we do every 15 minutes we head to the floor of the new york stock exchange, and nicole petallides. the market is literally at a stand till over this fiscal cliff. >> i knew you knew where we were going every 15 minutes, ashley. we have to check in on the markets. you're seeing the dow who haver around the unchanged line, down three points now. tech-heavy nasdaq the worst of the bunch down one half of 1%. app, i'm also watching whether or not the dow will have winning week. we had three straight weeks in a row of gains. if we close right here right now we're all right. 13,155 where we close last week. we'll see whether we make it four weeks in a row. we got in economic news, consumers prices. those edged lower for the first time in six months among others. let's get to apple because apple has been under pressure. ubs cut the price on apple,

their price target, to be more specific by 10% to under $700. here is a loss of 3.7% by apple. the concerns are china hitting hurdles and potential sales of both the iphone 5 and the ipad. and so some of the analysts are backing down a little bit. don't forget, they introduced one product after another. they're almost competing with themselves, while, at the same time trying to compete with other great products such as samsung and such. back to you. ashley: nicole, thank you very much. >> house speaker john boehner heading home to ohio after another round of talks with president obama. with congress not in session will we get any closer to a deal? rich edson with the latest in d.c. you were there outside the white house last night for that frank meeting. we got nothing out of that, did we? >> right. i was going to say, tracy. congress has been in session all week. house speaker john boehner has been here all week. the president has been here

all week. we haven't made any ground up. you're looking at structure house speaker john boehner is back in ohio. president is back here. he is accessible by phone. can jump on an airplane to come back here. what we're hearing from the meeting with aides close to the process they'rr saying still no movement on the fiscal cliff. the big part is being at thats. democrats want tax rates to increase, starting in january, on families earning more than $250,000 a year. the republican argument is that it would stunt the economy. it would hurt economic growth and hurt small businesses and white house basicallyally says, republicans are wrong. >> we had a little recent history to compare which kinds of economic plans work and the impact of various tax rates on economic growth and contrary to everything they say about the calamity that would-be fall america if the wealthy were asked to pay a little bit more the evidence decisively proves otherwise. >> on the other side republicans say democrats

are not serious about medicaid, medicare and social security reform and spending cuts. they point to a number of democrats coming out and saying, senior democrats, entitlement changes at least pieces of it should be off the table. back to you. tracy: rich edson, i'm sorry, you're going to be working up the last minute on december 31st, sir, but man, oh, man. >> maybe later. maybe later. tracy: happy new year. ashley: rich is pretty much resigned to that. as the standoff in washington goes on our next guest says the economic impact of going over that cliff will be worse than anyone expects. joining us now is john make con, economist for the american enterprise institute. by the way a former consultant to the treasury department and the cbo. john, you say it could be worse. we know from forecasts if we go over the cliff it could very well push this economy back into recession. you say it could be even worse? >> yeah. ashley, the cbo is saying if we go over the cliff we would have a slowdown to

about 1% growth? the first half of the year. we would recover to 2.3 in the second half. i think if you look more realisticly in00 billion in fiscal tightening we would get if we go over the cliff and look at some estimates developed in the past several years, it is more like which we would see negative growth rate on the order of 2 to 2 1/2% next year which is a solid recession. tracy: but what about the originalment that -- argument that sequestration kicks in? we get decent cuts across the board. the defense cuts are arguably too much. we get cuts on entitlements. get everything we're looking for. you could argue that would help the economy at the end of the day. >> no you can't. tracy: okay. >> if you hit the economy with fiscal drag worth about 4 percentage points of gdp, i don't think any economist would argue that we're going to have faster growth. in fact we'll have substantially slower growth. even the cbo is there.

so i think it would be a dangerous assumption to make to say, let's go over the cliff and we won't have a recession. we will have a recession. everybody i have talked to looked at it, has been on that side of the issue. the problem is, we'll have to address the physical problems. but, to address them it is sort of like, if you're on drugs and you go cold turkey off the drugs which is what going over the cliff would amount to, you can have pretty nasty withdrawal symptoms and that would essentially be the economy having a serious recession. ashley: well -- >> by the way --. ashley: could be medicine to be taken, though. >> pardon me? ashley: wouldn't you argue need to take. we've been overspending for so long? you finally to pay the piper. >> of course. if you pay too quickly, which is what the fiscal cliff does. remember, we've never seen $600 billion out of the

economy overnight. all the legislation kicks in then. you will get a very slow growth rate. in fact the growth rate will drop so much you will see that actually the debt-to-gdp ratio will probably rise after we go over the cliff, rather than drop. even with the cuts in spending. the greeks found it out. the spanish found it out. the italians found it out of the austerity is dangerous. tracy: you also know by now how congress works. well they really don't. so maybe, you know, pulling the drug from the drug addict, let them go through withdraw you will to sweat it out it is good for congress. they have no choice at that point. american people know how to handle things, we will rally back no problems and congress is taken out of the picture. >> if we go over the cliff, the first thing that will happen every american household will see take-home income go down 2%. we're going to have a very drastic cutback. i think we're both going in the same direction. we want to get the deficit down but going over the cliff, nobody would propose

a cutback that is that abrupt. tracy: why not? >> people will rally but they're not going to be happy about being in another --. tracy: we haven't been happy. >> yes, that's right. tracy: we haven't been happy. at this point be done with it. let's be done with it. at least we know it's over and move on, we're done. >> you're dreaming. you're dreaming. what would make people happy would be to see speaker boehner and the president come up with a good, solid proposal gets us on the way to deficit reduction. tracy: i think you're dreaming now. >> how is that? tracy: honestly we're not getting anywhere with this at this point, are we? >> no. we're not. and so, look, there's a difference between are we going over the fiscal cliff or not, and how bad will it be. we've been talking about how bad it will be. and i think, you know, the probability of going over the cliff has gone up pretty fast from about 20%, to

probably 50%. and really, what, what seems to be happening that the president wants tax rates to go up for the rich. what i gather the president is not coming back for could have for boehner. ashley: he has the upper hand. tracy: exactly. >> well, he has the upper hand in the sense he could just say no, we don't do anything. i don't, the question in my mind if the president says no and boehner were to cave and just go with the president's terms, could he get that through the house? i don't think so. tracy: i don't either. >> that's why i'm nervous we'll go over the cliff. all i'm saying is, as a economist who looks at the effect of this kind of a, what we call a fiscal shock, it won't be pretty, hoping that, you know, maybe the president will think that this wouldn't be a good thing and maybe he should

give something in exchange for a modest increase in those top tax rates so that we get an agreement and we don't go over the cliff. ashley: we'll leave it there. we're all dreaming to some extent, aren't we? i'm dreaming of a white christmas. >> sweet dreams. ashley: sweet dreams indeed. john, thank you so much. appreciate it. >> my pleasure, ashley. ashley: good stuff. see the point he is making is, yes we do need to get spending under control. i know what your point is, but to do it all at once is probably counterproductive but yes, we do need to get spending under control. tracy: these guys are not good a little bit at a time. ashley: that's true. that's true. tracy: put ashley in charge. there is much more to come including report that wal-mart has a craving for bankrupt baker hostess. a details on the possible combination ahead. ashley: port of is a van ney -- savannah growing big-time and getting ready to capitalize on the

expansion of the panama canal. we'll look at oil to see how it is trading. we'll talk to phil flynn in a little bit. data out of oil giving support to oil today, up about 1%. we'll be right back.

ashley: as we do every 15 minutes, let's check the markets now. nicole petallides on the floor of the nyse. nicole, a couple of big companies facing headwinds. >> that's right. when you talk about the companies you talk about what they're seeing, whether they're under pressure or warnings they're seeing. let's look at two names on the move, tracy and ashley. the first is centene. it is down 8.5%. the medicaid insurer is blaming higher medical costs associated with this year's early flu season. that something that is weighing on their numbers. they are down 8.5% now. they had to slash their full-year outlook for the year 2012 in total. as a result the stock is down $3.88 at 41.09. that is a nice one-year chart there for you. so it shows you that, while it pops and drops, it is not too far off where it started in the year. then there is schlumberger

in the oil services industry warning the profits will take a hit in the fourth quarter. shares are under pressure as a result of company's warning. it is down 4.7%. that is loss of $3.39 a share. they are seeing weakness and experiencing delays in europe and also in africa. you put this all together. this is not great company chatter from either of these two companies and as a result the stocks are really reflecting what we're hearing. back to you. ashley: all right, nicole, thanks very much. we'll be back to you in 15 minutes. the market just turning positive and i mean just. tracy: it is vacillating big-time, yeah. tracy: falling off the fiscal cliff preventing major market moves especially we're seeing today but could we see green if we get some progress? charles payne here to break it down. we said this before, we need a deal, not a good deal. >> to your point, tarp was signed above 10,000, three months later, 6600.

last year debt deal signed, two years later with the s&p downgrade crash. so no deal, no deal would not be the worst-case scenario. i want to go a little further out. listen we know taxes are going up. taxes are going up associated with obamacare and ultimately any deal that comes out of this taxes are going up. where does that leave investors? one thing right now, public pension funds, for instance, they have almost flipped. typically 60% cash. 60% stock, 40% bonds. they have almost totally flipped. investors 40 years and older almost abandoned, left the individual stock market in droves. they missed this incredible move over the last few years. but think about, guys. cap gain goes up to 23.8%. dividends, 43%. ashley: yeah. >> i think we're going to get to a point, believe it or not, in some strange ironic way stocks may be only thing you can do next year to try to make your money work for you.

i don't think the bond market will work. cded and stuff like that won't work. i think the bond market might be a de facto winner. tracy: the equity market you mean. >> yeah, the equity market. once the dust is settled. if to your point if we get flimsy framework everybody knows. tracy: appropriate nevertheless, charles payne, thank you very much. all right, coming up, chicken feed. chicken feed exports are actually helping the port of is a van ney -- savannah, georgia, rise up the list of busiest ports, believe it or not. the georgia ports sec tiff director curtis foltz. ashley: you fry them what i'm told. the dollar weaker against the euro and the pound. but up slightly against the canadian dollar. we'll be right back.

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>> 22 minutes past the hour, arthel neville updating you on the breaking story out of newtown, connecticut. the shooting at sandy hook elementary school. we know the name of the shooter. it is ryan lanza.

is the shooter. we are learning he is a 20-year-old male, possibly from new jersey. police confirming in a news conference last hour several fatalities attthe scene. both students and staff. sources telling fox there are at least 26 dead, 18 adults, eight adults, 18 children. making this one of the deadliest shootings in the u.s. there is no active shooter at the time. we're learning that the gunman took his own life. again he is a 20-year-old male, possibly from new jersey. his name is ryan lanza. sources claiming a second person is being questioned by authorities at this time. fox news's justice department producer reporting two handguns were recovered at the scene, a glock and a sig sauer. law enforcement sources have not given a motive so far at this time. when we give get one we'll give it to you. president obama spoke with connecticut governor dan

malloy to express condolences to those who lost loved ones as well as those injured. we're hearing the president may address the nation regarding this horrible tragedy. we'll keep you updated as more information becomes available. more after this break. what's next?

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serious side effects could include increased risk of prostate cancer; worsening prostate symptoms; decreased sperm count; ankle, feet, or bo swelling; enlarged or painful breasts; problems breathing while sleeping; and blood clots in the legs. common side effects include skin redness or irritation where applied, increased red blood cell count, headache, diarrhea, vomiting, and increase in psa. see your doctor, and for a 30-day free trial, go to axiron.com. tracy: hurricane sandy turning into a big spending bill in d.c. for things that are not even going to help the struggling homeowners hit by the superstorm. this is so typical d.c. makes me sick. liz macdonald, yeah, has more with emac's bottom line. >> we're staying on top of this all the way through because there is not any hearings yet what is now turning into a big pork storm which is sandy spending bill. basically we're seeing is, focus on d.c. or is it on

new york and new jersey? take a look at these items, guys, now in the sandy spending bill, the $60 billion price tag that we're talking about. 41 million of course military bases. that includes cuba. ashley: cuba? >> 23 million for tree plantings and 4 million for sand dunes to rehabilitate them at kennedy space center. 4 million worth of new cars and office equipment for the fbi. 2 million for a new roof at smithsonian. 1 million bucks for trees at cemeteries. the item that jumped out $3 billion to fix or replace federal government assets. 3 billion bucks is included in there. is it related to the storm or is there just a pork wagon? that is what is under debate now. this is what happens when the debate should be you nationalizing disasters? should you have the state level --. tracy: here is my question. do think we're total idiots? we do this every time they put something like this out.

someone like you rips it apart and gets bottom of the it. >> when i covered boots on the ground, katrina in new orleans. we saw the same thing happen, federal money wasted on soccer balls for federal workers. laptops. new cell phones. the thing is, three governors, new york, new jersey and connecticut wrote an op-ed is in the "new york post", katrina you only two weeks to give us money. we're now seven weeks in. should there be debate what is in the spending bill? ashley: pork is normally thrown is as sweetener to get support from lawmakers s that the case here? >> seems like turning into a christmas tree item list. you're right. to get it passed, you sweeten it. that is where they're sitting right now. tracy: ash's point is great. they shouldn't need sweeteners. ashley: they shouldn't. it is a no-brainer. there you go. tracy: liz macdonald, we love you. ashley: emac always gets us riled up.

it is almost 30 minutes past the hour. get a check on the markets as we do every 15 minutes. nicole petallides on floor of new york stock exchange. with the dow drifting slightly lower, nicole. >> let's ask doreen mowing guevara about the market we're seeing. do you think about the market and is it moving in the right direction? >> things moving are apple and material stocks on back of chinese data. apple obviously dragging down the techs. so two sectors my guys are focusing on anyway. and but i think you've seen most of the action you will see before the end of the year, you saw right fter the election. this seems to be a little bit lack luster. not too much volatility here and there. >> how do you play it? apple is down most recent lows. it wasn't far off the 505 mark i saw. this was a $700 stock. how are you guys playing it over there? >> we're not trading it but other clients are. i think a lot of people are expecting numbers will get cut by a lot of big banks next week. we saw one ubs number cut

already today. >> talk about the fiscal cliff and what you think people are anticipating. do you think washington is ultimately going to get something done? >> no. i don't think anybody does. i think that's what most people are anticipating, what we have is what we're going to get and that will be it. >> what will happen to the market? >> market will probably say like this to drifting down lower. might get santa claus rally, lower. don't think it will be exceptional year. >> drifting. and not too great. right. drifting. it's never boring. we always have action. it back to you. ashley: pretty definite about what she thinks will happen. thank you very much. the market may be stalled, but the port of savannah in georgia is growing faster than any other in america. that is in thanks in part to the next, what used to be considered trash and poultry producers in that south, chicken feed.

joining us, the man who runs the port of savannah, executive director of the georgian port authority. thank you, so much, for being here. we will get to it in a moment, but congratulations on being the fastest growing container port. how faster you growing and how are you doing? >> well, it is great to be here with you today. thank you. for the last decade our container facilities imports have grown at a compound in annual growth rate of ten and a half%. that is about double the next fastest growing part in the nation that has allowed us to become the fourth busiest container port in the country. ashley: i also understand their is a dredging project under way or about to get under way which will actually make the river there 5 feet deeper. what kind of impact will that have on the port's business? >> well, it is a critically important project for us. the river itself is the federal channel. the current studies have

approved the deepening of five additional feed. ultimately what it means for the nation is its cheaper to ship goods. the core studies have indicated that the deepening itself will save commerce about $220 million per year. ultimately those chicken feed or chicken pause, as they are referred to, will be a lot more competitive in the world market in getting to their destination. ashley: one of the advantages you have that i am reading this, ships come in with, you know, full loads of cargo, but they can also go outflow of cargo, which, i guess, is reference to the chicken feed in particular which is different and other ports such as los angeles. >> well, you have done your background work. it is. in a nation generally speaking where imports outpaced exports to-1, we are very fortunate in the southeast and particularly through our ports where we have balanced trade. we are generally export dominant

weeactually export more containerized freight than we import. this past year to the tune of 52% export, 40% import. it is not just chicken feet. we ship a lot of cotton, kale, clay, forest products to markets around the world. our ports charlie had become a gateway for commerce in the southeast. tracy: there is a huge project under way with the panama canal making it larger, easier to get through. what impact will that have on your. >> reporter: >> well, you know, i think the panama canal expansion, for those that are not as close to as i am, they are about to go through the first expansion that they have had an almost a century. the panama canal locks were originally built in 1914. in 2014-15 they're going to go through a major expansion. in its simplest form what it will allow our larger, more efficient, environmentally

friendly ships to transit the canal and ship goods to and from major gateways between the eastern half of the united states and all throughout asia. so it is going to bring competitive pricing to bear in should improve our competitiveness and a global basis. ashley: lastly, the location, it really is the gateway to the south and points beyond, so location is a key thing is what. >> well, we are very fortunate to us geographically be located what you most consider to be the fastest-growing demographic region in the u.s. you know, the saudis to some to about 45 percent of the u.s. population. georgette with atlantic, kind of our new york city of the south, and our port, 100 miles closer to the atlanta and the next nearest port, we are very well suited to take advantage of the continue demographic growth of the southeast, hence the commerce. ashley: congratulations again on

the georgia port authority. you also get to be very lucky. the city of savannah itself, absolutely beautiful. a great story all around. thank you for joining us. >> thank you so much. ashley: great antebellum homes and gorgeous city. tracy: he probably -- ashley: it's a huge export to china. they love their chicken feet. tracy: did we need to do that? ashley: the friday it. they say the meat is very tasty. before these fee were thrown away, but now they have become a major product. tracy: like our food. ashley: like chicken wings. chicken feet with your beer. i wouldn't. but. ashley: all right then. somebody has to make money. ashley: that's right. capitalism at its best. he may need to think before you click. an allegis flaw could have a -- attackers following every move of your mouse.

this is scary. details. >> reporter: the bad guys would seem be ordering chicken feed on line. scratch that. well, it is the season for spyware now where and trojan horses and all sorts of bad stuff online as we take to the web to do our online shopping. the bad guys are falling run along. there is nothing we can do about a breach in security that is basically started by the guys who made this tough in the first place. the software developers. we are talking about a breach in security that could exist in internet explorer, which as we all know, it's been my microsoft microsoft has already come out and said that it is aware of this potential issue saying we are actively working to adjust this behavior. we see very little risk to consumers at this time. there are no reported cases of any consumer having their permission compromised. what has been uncovered, they

discovered a serious hole in the internet explore security model that allows an outside attacker to follow you and your moves, following what your mouse does. it does not even need the program to be open. it can be closed, and the tracker can still find you. this is dangerous because many of us will go online banking sites or anything that requires an online key code or access code the a virtual keyboard, and that information can be stolen. again, microsoft says no one yet has had the impression compromise, but the fact that the hole exists mean that somebody is going to come and find it. someone is going to miss use it in some way, shape or form. we are waiting for the company to pass that. a couple of other options, if you want to protect yourself, go to a different browser. one made by apple, safari, chrome. you have some other options.

tracy: this stuff. ashley: thank you. someone is watching over your shoulder. the world's largest retailer about to save hostess? people will get sweet treats? all over that story next. >> reporter: kicking in a box of 28 on ebay right now for 50 bucks. tracy: first, less take a look at the ten and 30 year treasurys. up two basis points. your 30-year moving as well. three basis points higher. we will be right back. [ male announcer ] this is steve. he loves risk. but whether he's climbing everest, sca diving the great barrier reef with sharks, or jumping into the marke he goes with people he trusts, which is why he trades with a company that doesn't nickel and dime him with hidden fees. so he can worry about other things, like what the market is doing and being ready, no matter what happens,

which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense, from td ameritrade. ♪ >> reporter: 40 after the hour, updating you on that breaking story out of connecticut. the shooting. we are learning 24-year-old ryan was dead gunman behind this massacre, originally from newtown, but was living in hoboken, new jersey.

police affirming several fatalities at the scene, both students and staff. sources telling fox there are at least 26 dead, eight adults and 18 children making is one of the deadly shootings in u.s. history . there is no active share at the scene, as we are hearing, the gunman took his own life. sources also planning a second person is being questioned by authorities at this time. law enforcement sources have not given a motive. we are hearing president obama may address the nation regarding this tragedy. we will keep you updated as more information becomes available. datsun pairs with families. more after this break.

♪ ashley: breaking news. oil closing for the day up $0.84, nearly 1%. 8673 per barrel. for the week it was up $0.80.

in the pits of the cme. is this support provided by china, or is there more of work? >> i think it is china. today here in the u.s. you have no inflation. the fed can't even get more aggressive. they may have to the way things are going, but you're also seeing a return to geopolitical rest. the increased risk that the syrian situation could expand. the u.s. sending missiles and troops to the area does not make oil traders excited, but the other market that was driving today was gasoline. we put on $0.6 a day. on a slew of refinery issues, mainly year in the midwest. if you look at the refinery, a major crude unit that is having a lot of problems with all of -- they push back the time that it can start because of concerns about some fireproofing quoting. some people being sued over this, but it is driving prices higher. the cash market in the gulf, and

chicago. good news, natural gas is warm. those level in three months. that's a good way to end the week. ashley: and phil flynn at the cme. thank you, as always. tracy: well, several names reportedly lining of to be a bidder for the twinkie maker. we are joined now with more. i would think it would be a hot commodity. >> reporter: here is the interesting thing. union intransigence helped kill the twinkie and the paragon of junk food may be brought back to life by one of the most hated union foes of all, walmart. reports are walmart is looking at the body parts of the neb did hostess brand. 40 percent of hostess we sales. turnkeys, hellos, ding-dongs, and of the delights. here is how delicious it might be. closing doors after mark -- last month. needed to reduce $100 million

per year in retiree health costs. over half of it going to people who never worked at hostess. forcing the company to run to separate fleets, now they're looking at buying a pieces. mostly brands without the union plans and some 18,000 workers, most union employees. now comes walmart, object of union's corn for years. protesters descended on stores to pick over workers having to serve shoppers on thanksgiving night, never mind that more union people than actual walmart employees are protesting. never mind the unions don't represent walmart workers, but they would love to. think of the flow of union dues from more than a million employees. however, ends up buying the brand and it becomes the only place in the world where you can buy them, that has to just drive the unions crazy. dougie just love it? ashley: gray story. tracy: grace story. i love that. tracy: the last shipment went out and people are buying and selling them on the bay.

up to $50 per box. >> and given the shelf life that will be going on for quite a while. tracy: great appreciation in stocks these days. ashley: the last like a thousand years. a quarter till. time for stocks, as we do every 15 minutes. that's it back down to nicole petallides. a rough day for a couple of retailers. >> reporter: let's take a look at names on the move. dow jones industrials are down over 18 points on a loss of about one-tenth of 1%. first we take a close look at a great today chart because you see the previous day, that is when we had news that the founder of best buy may be moving forward with a buyout offer. the stock jumped 16%. now we're hearing that seemed delayed probably until february. the numbers, now we're giving back almost all that 16% gain from yesterday. the stock is down nearly 15%. down $2.6 at $12.7 giving him the opportunity to release see

the numbers for the full year and a holiday season. then we take a look here to at ethan allen, talking very candidly about ethan allen, the furniture company, and a couple of things coming into play. they downgraded to hold from buy. 50 percent of the business comes from the hurricane sandy area. concerns about consumer confidence, the fiscal cliff, and rising taxes. so putting in those three elements, the stock down nearly 9%. back to you. ashley: all right. thanks you so much. tracy: coming at, what is the most important news the market is watching next week? we will weigh in on that next. ashley: but first, take a look at some of today's winners and losers. ♪ copd makes it hard to breathe,

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♪ tracy: breaking news. president obama is set to deliver a statement at 3:15 p.m., just about 25 minutes from now. we will be carrying that live right here on the fox business network. to deliver a statement. it does nasa regarding what. we will be carrying that live for you right here. well, it is deadline day for states to announce whether they plan to build and operate their own health insurance exchanges are that the federal government run it. peter barnes joins us with more on this story. >> reporter: health care exchanges are a big part of obamacare. the administration is counting on to help provide insurance for up to 23 million people by 2016.

but as of the deadline today, about half of the staaes are saying no thanks. eighteen states plus the district of columbia will create their own exchanges. twenty-six states will let the federal government set them up for them. the six states we will set them up in test partnership with the beds. some republicans are passing -- some republican governors passing on is because they are outright opposed to obamacare. others like new jersey republican governor chris christie are waiting from -- for more details from washington about them. for now, they're content to let defense take the risk on the costs and operations. >> echoing the concern of many other governors. it is not clear whether a state that pops into state base exchange can opt out again in a subsequent year and moved to federal exchange. >> we just want to show you will one of these looks like.

an exchange under romney care. it is supposed to be from velocity for buying health insurance. ashley: thank you so much. appreciated. tracy: well, 17 days left. do you believe it? until the end of the year in the fiscal cliff. the market is expecting a solution. he knows of the details will be. we should be focusing on recent good economic trends and, of course, the trend is our friend. joining us now, a senior economic -- equity strategist. let's get right into this. we're going to get a deal. >> the market digests would never mention it has. at that point the analysts

change their projection. if the deal is bad we can see that sort of correction, but right now you go with the trend in the economy is moving higher. tracy: that brings us to the economic data we have been getting. it is actually inching up. consumer confidence fluctuates, but for the most part it sort of moving out. >> yes. the biggest thing is housing. housing is the one thing that most americans have to hedge against inflation. housing numbers have been in including. building permits. you need to see that number. the existing home sales. those are both annual numbers. those numbers are adjusted year with the markets are expecting. that's what we need to have in terms of housing. tracy: are you worried all the

liquidity is the reason for these good data points? >> a lot of contributing factors. fund managers, of them underperform. toward the end of the year they get confident, jump in. they will not jump back up right away at least until january 1 because there being measured upon performance. fees are all taken upon at. a lot of that money. if they're is a change in the way our economy trajectory will go, which i believe there will be come january 1 or whenever decision is made, all of that is up for grabs. right now markets are continuing to move higher. watch next week. durable goods numbers. big, big numbers. by the way, you're looking for a drop of only one-half percent. that is the key. tracy: apple is going to fall. it is down now. last year month ago. buying a year. >> still not buying it.

the stock continues to move lower, breaks through 500. if you like it at 515 you like it just as much as 475. a lot of fundamental issues. it. tracy: come back and support that. >> always. tracy: have a great weekend. ashley: just a reminder, president obama expected to speak. fox business will bring that to you live. countdown to the closing bell coming up next. [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters?

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♪ tracy: breaking news. this is a horrific and tragic day in our nation's history. eighteen children have been